A Moment Too Late (GL) - Chapter 38

“Nothing.”

Nan Xue gently removed her hand from Shu Yubai’s shoulder, letting it fall to the side.

The atmosphere in the car was very quiet. The English folk song continued its endless loop. The car was parked by the roadside, next to a streetlamp. Under the pale light, the snowflakes spun gently.

“You Fu is really good to me,” Shu Yubai said, rolling down the car window. A cold wind with snowflakes swept in, making her feel a bit more awake.

“Really?” Nan Xue questioned.

Shu Yubai turned and saw the expression on Nan Xue’s face.

Her pale face was reflected in the grayish glass, giving her an appearance of cold indifference. After pushing her away, Nan Xue slowly moved a little further, leaning quietly against the driver’s seat, closing her eyes.

“She might be good to you now, but what about later?”

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll change her heart?”

“When she likes you, she really likes you. But what if she stops liking you?”

Shu Yubai glanced at her in confusion.

Is Nan Xue worrying too much? They aren’t even together yet, and she’s already imagining a breakup? Moreover, considering her current situation, being with You Fu feels like she’s aiming too high.

“I’ll deal with it if it happens.”

Shu Yubai smiled softly and said, “It’s late. I want to go home and sleep.”

Just one more week.

They were about to make their relationship public.

Nan Xue thought about this as the car accelerated, speeding along the road.

“Drive slower,” Shu Yubai frowned. “It’s slippery in the snow.”

••••

Nan Xue eventually drove Shu Yubai home.

Their neighborhood was a bit old, and there were hardly any people around. Most were already at home, starting to rest. Shu Yubai took out her car pass, and the gate opened.

The car smoothly drove into the garage.

Shu Yubai gathered her belongings in the seat: a coat and a bag. Nan Xue glanced at her, tentatively saying she wanted to come inside. As the car parked in the garage, Shu Yubai hesitated for a moment.

“It’s late. You should go home,” Shu Yubai said, getting out of the car. She looked down, her long hair loose, and adjusted her coat.

“No,” Nan Xue said, getting out of the car. She slung a small black bag over her shoulder and neatly closed the door. “I want to see Auntie.”

“She might be asleep,” Shu Yubai replied.

“I…won’t disturb her,” Nan Xue whispered.

Shu Yubai looked at Nan Xue. The lighting in the garage was dim, and the girl stood there with dark eyes, looking like a small animal wanting to get closer, her eyes filled with longing.

“She…” Shu Yubai started but didn’t get a chance to refuse.

Nan Xue immediately offered another reason, “Then I’ll go see the dog.”

Lin Lan’s little teddy was still at home, cared for by her mother.

Shu Yubai smiled helplessly, “Alright then.”

The elevator was slow. Shu Yubai stood downstairs waiting, the silver-gray elevator doors vaguely reflecting the silhouettes of the two girls.

What does Nan Xue want to do?

Shu Yubai couldn’t understand her intentions and stopped trying to guess.

She said she’s straight, so she must be straight.

The elevator opened, and the two entered one after the other. In the confined space, there was a bit of awkwardness. After a while, Nan Xue’s phone rang. She quickly glanced at it and answered, “Dad?”

“Where did you go?” Nan Mingzhu’s authoritative voice came through. “Aunt Zhang said you were at the company. I went there, but you weren’t.”

“I left,” Nan Xue replied. “I went to my sister’s place.”

Her father pressed again, “Did you take my car?”

Though it wasn’t on speaker, her father’s voice was still loud, reverberating in the small space.

Shu Yubai heard it too.

She looked up at Nan Xue, who was very embarrassed and stepped back into the corner, her black hair falling down and covering her face.

A hint of amusement flickered in Shu Yubai’s eyes.

“Yes,” Nan Xue said, glancing at Shu Yubai and covering the phone’s receiver lightly with her hand, “I’m with Sister Yubai.”

“I won’t be coming back tonight.”

Nan Mingzhu paused: “Staying at her place overnight?”

“Yes.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Nan Xue held her breath slightly.

*Ding*

The elevator doors opened.

“Alright, rest early,” Nan Xue’s father said, seemingly without suspicion.

Nan Xue hung up the phone and walked out with Shu Yubai. Her home was on the sixth floor, neither too high nor too low. As the sensor light turned on, they stood in front of the door. Nan Xue looked at the red couplets stuck up not long ago, the handwriting of Shu Yubai’s mother.

Her mother was skilled in calligraphy and had once been a renowned young professor at an art academy.

Shu Yubai fumbled for the keys, lowering her head, and rummaging through the pocket of her bag until she found a cool object.

She gently unlocked the door.

The door opened.

The living room light was on, and Shu Yubai’s mother was sitting on the sofa watching TV, holding a white ragdoll cat. At her feet, a chocolate-colored dog was playing with her pant leg.

The night air was chilly with the floor-to-ceiling windows open.

Shu Yubai’s mother turned to see them, “Oh, Xiao Nan is here too?” She quickly got up, walking over with a bright smile, “It’s been a long time, my little girl has grown so much.”

She took Nan Xue’s hand, her eyes bright with joy, “You’re taller than me now.”

Shu Yubai was already quite tall, but Nan Xue was even taller. Back in high school, Nan Xue was the one who carried the class sign at every sports event, walking on the track. Shu Yubai would watch from the sidelines, seeing her in a white shirt and black skirt, with a straight back, and long, white legs without an ounce of extra fat, moving like a model.

Unconsciously, she remembered things from long ago.

Shu Yubai smiled.

The little dog began circling Nan Xue again as they returned. She took off her coat, hung it on the coat rack, and squatted down. The fabric stretched, outlining her slim waist as she lightly scratched the puppy’s head, her lips curving upwards.

Shu Yubai placed her bag on the sofa and went inside.

There were three rooms: one for her mother, one for herself, and a study.

How to arrange this?

Seeing her hesitation, Nan Xue put her bag in the study and softly asked, “Sister, should I sleep here?”

“Up to you.”

As long as they didn’t share a bed.

Nan Xue’s eyes dimmed a bit at her quick agreement, looking somewhat disappointed.

“Go wash up and sleep, dear,” Shu Yubai’s mother Li Nian came over, gently patting Nan Xue’s back and ruffling her hair, “It’s late.”

“I…don’t have a change of clothes.” She looked at Shu Yubai, her black and white eyes slightly uncomfortable.

“No problem,” Li Nian smiled, “Wear Shu Yubai’s. She has plenty of clothes. As long as you don’t mind.”

Watching them talk, Shu Yubai found herself inexplicably arranged.

Nan Xue showered surprisingly quickly. Soon, a muffled voice came from the bathroom, “Sister, towel.”

She hadn’t brought anything: her pajamas and towel had to be borrowed. Shu Yubai, thoughts scattered, tried not to overthink. She carried the towel slowly to the bathroom and knocked.

The door opened a crack.

A slender, white finger, warm and moist from the steam, tipped with translucent pink nails, trimmed neatly, reached out.

Shu Yubai handed over the towel. The crack widened slightly, revealing the smooth, pale shoulder of the girl inside.

After drying off, Shu Yubai found and handed her a piece of clothing.

“This is yours?” came the voice from the bathroom.

“Yes,” Shu Yubai replied, “It’s clean, though I haven’t worn it in a while.”

After some rustling sounds, the door opened.

Nan Xue emerged, and their eyes met.

She wore an oversized white cotton T-shirt, outlining a slim figure. Her collarbones were beautiful, with slightly damp hair hanging over her shoulders, leaving faint wet marks. She walked out of the mist, lips glistening with moisture, like morning petals.

Shu Yubai glanced at her calmly and let her into the room.

“Sleep now, it’s almost eleven.”

Then she turned off the light.

Shu Yubai’s room was next door, with its own bathroom. Nan Xue curled up under the covers, listening to the sound of water from the next-door bathroom, trickling down and splashing against the walls.

The water stopped.

Everything was quiet again.

Shu Yubai dried off, changed into pajamas, and got into bed, closing her eyes. Nan Xue’s bed was just a wall away, seemingly so close yet so far.

There was the sound of insects chirping.

••••

“Xiao Shu, where’s Xiao Nan?”

Li Nian woke up early in the morning. At her age, her biological clock naturally woke her up around six or seven. She stood at the door and looked around. Nan Xue’s room was neat and tidy, the bed was made, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“She’s not in her room?”

Shu Yubai rubbed her eyes.

She sat up, her long hair messily draped over her shoulders. After a moment of confusion, she wrapped herself in a thick cotton robe, got out of bed, and put on slippers to check.

The room was indeed empty.

Completely vacant.

“Nan Xue?”

She called out, but there was no response.

She wasn’t in the living room either.

After a while, Shu Yubai picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Nan Xue’s name was still there. She tapped it, hesitated for a moment, and then dragged her out of the blacklist.

“Call her and ask.”

Li Nian stood in the living room, glanced at her, and urged, “This child, she left without saying a word.”

Shu Yubai lowered her gaze, murmured an acknowledgment, and thought, has she already left?

For some reason, she felt a moment of disappointment, but then she began making excuses for her, thinking she must have had an urgent matter to leave without saying goodbye.

She dialed the number, and after a few rings, someone picked up.

“Hello?” Shu Yubai held the phone.

“Sister, I’m downstairs,” came the reply, slightly breathless, as if she’d been running.

“Where are you?”

Shu Yubai glanced at Li Nian, who was also watching curiously.

“I went to buy breakfast.”

Nan Xue said.

“I mean, where are you right now?”

Shu Yubai frowned.

There was a pause, and then, “I’m in the garden downstairs.”

Shu Yubai quickly wrapped herself in her clothes, opened the door, and went downstairs.

On a bench in the garden sat a girl, her nose slightly red from the cold.

“Sister, come here.”

Nan Xue looked at Shu Yubai earnestly, “I have something to tell you.”

Not knowing what she wanted to say, Shu Yubai walked over. Nan Xue took her hand, warming it with a bun she had just bought, and said, “You Fu really isn’t suitable.”

“I checked, she still has a fiancé.” Nan Xue looked at her, slightly exasperated, “Her family isn’t as free as you think. Dating girls is just for fun.”

“Really? Could it be a mistake?”

Shu Yubai lowered her head, still thinking of her fondly, then smiled and said, “Why are you telling me all this? Just to stop me from dating You Fu?”

“Yes.”

Nan Xue gently squeezed Shu Yubai’s fingertips, her touch warm and soft.

“Try being with me, okay?”

Nan Xue said softly, “I’m different. I only like you, just you.”

Shu Yubai was stunned. This sentence sounded like a thunderclap in her ears, making everything else inaudible. She turned her head in surprise and saw the girl beside her. Her expression was so serious, as if she wasn’t joking.

“Say it again?”

“I said, sister, try being with me.”

The girl sat on the bench, a snowy white world behind her. She held the bun, slightly tilting her face, as if discussing something ordinary.

Shu Yubai lowered her head, a gust of wind lifted her long hair, and she gently tucked a strand behind her ear with her slender fingers.

After a long pause, she said, “Are you… joking?”